Barry will battle CIF in court

Del Oro High transfer Remi Barry will take the California Interscholastic Federation to court today.
Barry’s attorney, Mark A. Campbell, notified the CIF and the Sac-Joaquin Section in a fax Thursday morning that the French native will seek a stay in Placer County Superior Court at 10 a.m.
The hearing will take place at the Bill Santucci Justice Center in Roseville. The department will be assigned this morning.
Only Campbell will be present in court on a morning described by Chris Hendricks as “very procedural.” Barry lives with the Hendricks family in Loomis.
A judge may grant the stay immediately or it may take a lengthier review to issue the temporary order.
The section and CIF issued a joint statement Thursday afternoon “to balance the discussion on this matter for the public at large and especially for anyone interested in shielding high school sports from the undue influence of those trying to game the system.”
The statement refers to Barry’s transfer as “athletically motivated and/or subject to undue influence.
“The preponderance of evidence in this case, as will be detailed in court, substantiates that a now former college basketball coach sought to ‘shop’ Mr. Barry around to several high schools, including Del Oro,” it reads. “Unlike Del Oro, one Bay Area high school understood these rules and would not allow Mr. Barry to play.”
The matter “is about how people have sought to manipulate the system to advance their own agendas,” according to the statement.
“We trust that this process will ultimately support our findings and demonstrate that CIF has acted in accordance to clearly established rules intended to protect the institution of amateur high school sports in California,” the statement reads.
A stay could get the 6-foot-7 Barry onto the basketball court in time for next Wednesday’s Sierra Foothill League clash at Woodcreek, which sits undefeated atop the standings in an otherwise neck-and-neck race.
Del Oro, which has played 19 games without Barry, has a bye tonight.
The Golden Eagles are one of five teams vying for second place.
If Barry is granted the stay and plays in any of Del Oro’s remaining six SFL games or potential playoff contests, the Eagles would likely forfeit any wins if a court eventually sides with the CIF.